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Hip pain

Forgive me if this subject has been raised previously, I've recently joined the forum.

Anybody with good tips on loosening/opening up hips and also exercises for strengthening them? I'm getting an increasing amount of hip pain both sides and a bit of stiffness too. I see a chiropractor every so often about a back issue, he thinks I might have some ligament thickening and a bit of bursitis. I'm trying to avoid a steroid injection if I can help it.

Just wondered if anyone else has had the problem and what they've done.

How flexible are your hips. When stretching how close can you get your head to your foot?

A lot of debate on how useful static flexibility is and I wonder if flexible hips do help prevent future problems. I do static strethcing every evening before going to bed and am pretty flexible thanks to that but not sure if it will help me in the long term or not.

I'm probably getting the cart way in front of the horse here, but in the event you're contending with osteoarthritis, and the pain worsens to the point you can't bear it or you can't keep up with your daily activities, I highly recommend Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR). I had this procedure done one year ago, and I'm back to teaching three nights a week, competing, and running. It's a large metal apparatus that is more durable and stable than a total hip replacement. Another advantage it has is that it preserves more of your bone so that in case you later need a total hip replacement, you have more natural material for the surgeon to work with. The procedure is for fit and active people under the age of 60. Besides Iain, it's the best thing to come out of the U.K. this century.

John, I am relatively flexible through the hamstrings and can get my head down to my knee on a one leg out-one leg tucked under thigh stretch etc. My adductors are ok, but not exceptional, I use a streching machine (which itself may be some of the problem it seems) and can open my legs to about 130 degrees. Whether or not this kind of work has irritated the muscles and ligaments around my hip joint I don't know, or if it is just some repetative action that has caused it. It could be karate, it could be poor posture standing at work all day.

Thanks for the info, Nezumi, I will keep it in mind. I had x-rays a couple of years ago which showed the joint itself being fine but whether or not deterioration has occured now I don't know. Glad to hear it worked well for you, could I ask was it a private procedure or did you get it through the NHS?

A brilliant exercise for this is standing figure 8 hip joint moblity. Stand on one leg, keep your upper body steady/try to avoid movement here. Make big figure 8 `s with the free leg front to back and after a few reps change to opposite direction, perform on both sides. This exercise both mobilises the free leg and strengthens the stabilising leg. The last few years before I started this I had trouble with my right jodan kicks, but this exercise cured it completely. (And I am a chiropractor myself, so I probably should have figured it out earlier. Anyway, I am 50 now and the uramawash is better than ever thanks to Steve Maxwell that showed me the exercise :-) . This is also a good basic exercise for ashi barai and O Soto Gari.